The open system uses one heat source, your domestic water heater, to provide both floor heating and domestic hot water. The two systems are basically tied together. The same water that ends up in your hot shower or dishwasher, for example, has passed through the floor first. This is a very efficient system because one heat source is doing all the work. As long as the water heater is sized appropriately and matches your heating and domestic needs, the need for a "separate" heating system is eliminated.
Why is cold water entering the radiant system from the domestic supply?
You'll notice that cold water from your domestic supply enters the water heater via the floor tubing. We plumb the radiant system this way so that there's never any chance of stagnant water entering your domestic system. Fresh water enters the tubing every time you use hot water.
And although it looks at first glance as if cold water will be cooling down your floor, in reality that won't happen. The only cold water that can enter the tubing will be the "make up" water to your water heater. If no hot water valves are open in your domestic system, the radiant system is essentially "closed". In other words, cold water cannot enter the system unless it has somewhere to flow....an open hot water valve in the house somewhere. Without an open hot water valve, only the circulator pump supplying the radiant tubing can force water from the water heater into the tubing, and back, when your zone calls for heat.
So, when you use hot water, cold water enters the water heater via the floor. This assures that fresh water is always flowing through the system, even in the summer. Keep in mind that any hot water displaced by the cold make-up water eventually works it's way to the water heater, so there's no net energy loss. And due to the large thermal mass in the floor, the small amount of cold make-up water entering the tubing has no chance of cooling down the floor....unless of course you were to take a four hour shower. That's not likely. Also remember that if the thermostat in the zone is calling for heat at the same time you're using hot water, then the circulator pump will still be pumping hot water through the loops and the net result will be warm water entering the tubing instead of cold.
By the way, one of the easiest and least expensive ways to protect components in open systems, to say nothing of the home's plumbing fixtures, is through the use of a whole house filter. Common canister-type housings are available at any hardware store and a 20 micron filter will effectively remove silt and other particles from the home's incoming water.
But if the radiant circulators are running, will the floor steal hot water from my shower?
No. That's because our circulators are very low wattage, non self priming pumps. They can stir water around a radiant system, but they can't compete with normal domestic water pressure. As a result, domestic hot water uses always take precedence.
) [See Larger Image] |
)
[See Larger Image] |
|
On the left is a four zone open system using a Takagi on-demand water heater. To the right is a four zone open system using a Polaris high-efficiency water/space heater. |
|
-[Converte.gif)
Even large, high volume radiant systems can use a properly sized on-demand water heater. The above schematic details our "Primary/Secondary" plumbing configuration in an open system (i.e. heating and domestic hot water from a single unit).
Basic Open Primary Loop Package
Open Primary Loop Installed in a Multi-zone Radiant System
 |
|
| Seen above is one of our "Radiant Ready" single zone Open System package. This pre-assembled, panel system comes right out of the box just as you see it here, including pump, pre-wired controller, check valve, pressure relief valve, pressure gauge, in-line thermometers, and ball valves. The entire package is pressure tested against leaks and as few as five solder connections can tie it into your system. | |
Using an On-demand Takagi Water Heater for an Open System
This schematic details all the components in the "Takagi Open Package" photo below.
Hot water from the Takagi on-demand unit enters mixing valve #1 (valve on the left) where it is tempered to whatever temperature the floor requires.
Hot water from the Takagi also supplies mixing valve #2 (upper valve) so the household's domestic hot water can be cooler (or hotter in some cases) than the floor water. This plumbing configuration gives the homeowner total control over the Takagi's heat output for both space heating and domestic hot water.
Radiant Floor Company makes pre-assembled "Radiant Ready" single zone packages in 21 configurations. The photo below is a Radiant Ready specifically designed for the Takagi on-demand water heater.
"Radiant Ready" for Takagi on-demand heater
The ALPHA pump, a "smart" radiant circulator
The cost of the ALPHA series pumps have dropped dramatically and the price is now within the range of many conventional radiant circulators. Radiant Floor Company will design ALPHA circulators into our radiant system whenever possible so our customers can enjoy a 50-75% savings on the cost of running their pumps.
For more information on the amazing ALPHA series, follow this link: Alpha pump
The Circulation Loop
In homes with spread-out floor plans, the heat source is often a long distance from the hot water fixtures. Fifty, eighty, even a hundred feet of 3/4" copper pipe can separate the user from the water heater. In extreme cases, several gallons of water vanishes down the drain before the hot water arrives, to say nothing of the long wait.
The Circulation Loop solves this problem by circulating hot water in a continuous loop between the user and the heat source. One or many hot water fixtures then branch off the main loop and hot water becomes, in effect, instantly available.
But of course this miracle consumes energy. A small pump (about 80 watts) is required for circulation and the loop itself can radiate a significant amount of thermal energy to the surrounding air unless it's well insulated. Ideally, a timer activates the loop (pump) only during periods of significant hot water use, say, a few hours in the morning and a few at night.
Outdoor Wood Boilers With an Open System
Many customers, especially in rural areas, are installing outdoor wood boilers and using them in conjunction with radiant floor heating. Normally, these boilers, via a heat exchanger, are plumbed into a storage/back-up tank that can take over the task of heating the water when the winter fatigued homeowner flies off to the Caribbean and becomes unavailable to throw wood into the boiler.
If you have a standard outdoor wood boiler, the following schematic could be very useful.
The "open" configuration used with a standard outdoor wood boiler
The heat exchanger is necessary in this system because the water in the wood boiler is chemically treated with an anti-corrosive agent. As a result, the boiler water must never come in contact with the potable water in the storage/back-up tank. Also keep in mind that, unless the wood boiler is a multi-fuel system (i.e. a propane or oil burner fires up when the wood supply burns down), the back-up tank should be a heat source powerful enough to meet the home's total hot water and heating needs.
This photo shows the heat exchanger side of the Open System with wood boiler
The insulated supply and return lines from the wood boiler (black Ecoflex pipe) enter the room through an opening in the slab. A cast iron circulator pump (bottom left) sends the hot fluid into the top left inlet of the heat exchanger. An in-line thermometer shows the exact temperature going into the heat exchanger. From the bottom left outlet of the exchanger the water returns to the boiler
Notice the "existing system fill kit" plumbed into the return line. These valves make it easy to fill or drain the boiler when necessary.
A second Stainless Steel circulator pump is installed on the domestic/heating side of the heat exchanger (upper right of photo). A sensor on the storage tank return line monitors the temperature in the tank. When the tank temperature falls below 140 degrees, the stainless pump is activated and heat is drawn from the heat exchanger.
The other variation on the wood boiler theme is the "domestic hot water coil" within the boiler itself. Some brands of boiler offer this feature and, as long as wood is continually fed into the boiler, a separate storage tank for domestic hot water is not needed.
The Open System with a Solar Tie-in
The rise in fossil fuel prices has inspired many homeowners to invest in renewable energy technologies like solar. The schematic below demonstrates how a solar thermal array can interface with an open radiant system.
)
The Stiebel-Eltron uses two internal heat exchangers to heat water for an "open" radiant system.
Stiebel-Eltron designed two heat exchangers into their storage tank, or to put it another way, two closed systems surrounded by potable water. Ideally, the lower (solar) coil heats the tank to a usable temperature, and the hot water is drawn off as needed for domestic and heating purposes. Fresh water enters the tank in direct proportion to the amount drawn off for domestic hot water. Obviously, when hot water is taken from the tank for radiant heating purposes, it simply returns to the tank for re-heating.
Since solar, especially during the spring, summer, and fall, can heat the tank to near boiling, a mixing valve tempers the potentially scalding water to a safe level.
On the other hand, if a period of cloudy weather, or a lack of available sun (also called winter) prevents the solar from heating the tank to the desired temperature, the Takagi on-demand (back-up) unit heats the upper coil by using standard fossil fuel. Either way, hot water is always available for domestic or radiant heating purposes.
Also, because this configuration is basically two closed (non-potable and/or anti-freeze) systems interfaced with pure, drinkable water, the components needed in any closed system are included in this package, i.e. expansion tank, air eliminator, fill/drain valves, etc.
Adding a Closed Anti-Freeze Zone or Snow melt Zone to an Open System Manifold
Using the Zone Manifold to power a heat exchanger
Speaking of closed systems attached to "open" systems, some radiant applications require the use of anti-freeze. Examples would be melting snow from driveways, walkways, and stairs; heating remote buildings like workshops and greenhouses via underground, insulated lines.....or basically, any heating task demanding freeze protection. Obviously, these zones can't intermingle with the potable water of an open system.
Normally, for the sake of efficiency (heating with anti-freeze is 15% less efficient than heating with pure water), you don't want your entire radiant system to use anti-freeze just because one or two zones may need it. The solution is a heat exchanger heated by one leg of the open system Zone Manifold ( see above schematic ). The heat exchanger transfers heat from the potable water to the anti-freeze without mingling the two fluids.
A snow melt system for a driveway and parking area
In the above snow melt system, note the XPS (extruded polystyrene) insulating foam below the tubing and, just as important, the vertical pieces of foam along the edges of the future slab. In all radiant heating applications, and especially in energy intensive uses like melting snow and ice, it's crucial to contain the heat and direct it to its primary task. In this case, melting snow from the concrete driveway and not wasting precious heat on the soil below and along the edges of the slab is worth the high cost of abundant insulation.
Multiple Heat Sources Tied Into An Open System
It's amazing how layered some heating systems can get. In their quest for maximum efficiency, effectiveness, and versatility, some customers tie as many as three different heat sources (in this case, solar, wood, and gas) into a single system. The following schematic illustrates how this can be done.
Notice also how a "high" temperature heat emitter (fan coil or baseboard radiator), can interface with a "low" temperature emitter (radiant floor) by the strategic placement of a mixing valve. And because this is an open system, domestic hot water is provided as well.
.gif)